Nourish, Nurture & Flourish

My baby survived the first six months of her life solely on breast milk – barring two occasions at the hospital when the nurses managed to convince my husband that my baby wasn’t getting enough milk from me as my milk supply wasn’t established, therefore was crying because she was hungry. I was too tired and newly sleep deprived to argue, so I gave in, and my baby had formula.

No, I have nothing against formula and it is godsend for mothers who can’t breastfeed or don’t want to for whatever reason, but I wanted to exclusively breastfeed for as long as I could, and only use formula if needed.

While I was still pregnant, I had a lot of free time and the opportunity to read up on breastfeeding and the issues that one could face on their journey. I also read up and watched videos on how to ensure that the baby had a deep latch, how to determine if baby was getting enough, and once she was born, even about why I shouldn’t doubt my supply even though she nursed every hour during those few weeks.

Unfortunately, not many women know that and immediately start questioning their milk supply as soon as baby’s nursing frequency inceases, and supplement with formula not knowing that reducing the number of times your baby nurses results in reducing your supply because milk production works on demand-and-supply.

Fortunately for me, except for soreness and cracked nipples in the first week of my breastfeeding journey, I have not faced any trouble so far and today, at almost 10.5 months, I still nurse my baby and plan to continue to do so for as long as I can and for as long as she needs me to.

Our bodies are amazing. When we get pregnant, in addition to creating an entire human, our body creates a whole new organ that never existed before – the placenta – to provide nutrition to the baby while in the womb. So if our body knows what goes into making a person and the placenta, wouldn’t it provide for the baby’s nutrition after birth too? And that too, for as long as the baby needs? Sometimes we just need to trust our bodies to know what our babies’ needs are and let nature take its course.

There’s nothing wrong in giving formula, of course. But your breast milk is tailor made for your baby and I firmly believe that if you want toand are able to exclusively breastfeed, you shouldn’t give up when it gets difficult. If you don’t want to, or aren’t able to, then that’s totally your choice, obviously.

As August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week, Nayantara and I thought this would be the perfect time to take this subject up, create awareness and provide whatever help we can to new and expecting mothers about breastfeeding, its benefits, share some tips, and bust some myths. Which is why, the theme for WARM August 2017 is…

Nourish, Nurture & Flourish

The Nourish part, of course, refers to breastfeeding, but it could mean any kind of nourishment we provide to our babies!

In July, we focussed on ourselves. So this month let us bring our babies and other important people into the fold and cherish them as well. As Nayantara and I also practice Attachment Parenting, in keeping with all things natural, Nuture is also about keeping our babies close. We both babywear and have loved the closeness, the comfort, and ease it brings into our lives as mothers in a nuclear family. But, did you know that the closeness babywearing brings actually helps breastfeeding? Amazing, right?

As for Flourish… Pick any one relationship in your life (or more, if you want to) that has taken a back seat since the arrival of your baby. For most of us, it is our partners. But it could also be your best friend, or your parent(s), or even a sibling or cousin. If you feel like you haven’t spent enough time with them, we are going to make you 😜 and you (and they) will love us for that.

So are you ready to play Nourish, Nurture & Flourish with us? Check out what Nayantara has to say about our theme for August 2017.

Stay tuned as we reveal our sponsors and prompts during the next few days leading up to August 1. Also, Nayantara and I have organised an event in Mumbai with one of our amazing sponsors. More details coming in a day or two.

IMPORTANT:

If you aren’t breastfeeding (anymore or never did) feel free to interpret any prompts relating to nourishment as food your baby has. We’re going to have some fun prompts relating to this, so don’t feel like you can’t participate just because you aren’t breastfeeding or your babies are too old to breastfeed.

If you didn’t or don’t babywear, again, feel free to interpret the prompts in ANYWAY you want. Snuggling with our babies is always fun, right? With or without baby carriers?

If you haven’t checked it out already, I just introduced you to Nayantara from Mommying BabyT – my co-host for the August Challenge. Read more about her, here.

P.S. If you plan to write any breastfeeding related articles during World Breastfeeding Week, do let me know. Also if you want to share any Breastfeeding tips, or bust some myths, do share with us. You can write to hello@beingmammabear.com and I will be happy to share them on We Are Real Moms.

Loved reading your post. I agree breastfeeding is a mind game and we give up because of self doubt. Fortunately my exclusive breastfeeding journey has been smooth. The theme for WARM contest looks really exciting. Looking forward to it

Thank you so much! Hope you will play along this month… And it has been smooth for me too, so far. You’re so right. Being a blogger, I have come across so many new mothers who start questioning themselves at the slightlest change in their baby’s behaviour. That needs to change.

I am also a big supporter of breastfeeding. I was able to feed my son only till his first 6 months. Then office stress and other health issues drained my lactation. Still I feel I hadn’t tried enough to get the supply back. So I encourage new mothers more and more to practice breastfeeding.

6 months is not bad at all! Even moms who’re at home with their babies sometimes struggle with breastfeeding. So don’t feel bad about it. I’m sure the nutrition you provided for 6 months will help your baby for many, many years to come.

I think formula is a good option for those who cant breastfeed their baby or feel shy in public . I also gave formula milk to my both kids coz of less supply of milk. But it is best to do breastfeed coz it is good for baby’s immunity.

I too was one of many who gave in early to formula feed post delivery for a couple of reason. I wasn’t sure if supply was enough and c-sec made it more challenging to do it whole heartily…😢.. I read a lot and from second month onwards I started feeding less formula and more of breast milk. She is 19 months and I still breastfeed her. 😊👍

That is fantastic that you were able to build your supply up! C-Sec moms have difficulty breastfeeding is another myth. A lot of moms need to know that it is important to bring the baby to breast within an hour of birth because that the best way to establish a good breastfeeding relationship – whether born through C-Section or vaginally.

You are so right… Most mothers do not know that their baby induces milk supply. That’s why even while expressing, it is recommended that you express first and then latch baby. Karma is 2 years plus and still breastfeeding though I am trying to wean her off now. I did have a really bad blocked duct in my first few months but eventually it healed. Was painful though. Even though I don’t practice attachment parenting a lot and Karma is a cot and stroller baby, somehow I feel breastfeeding works if you just try and not put pressure on yourself to do it. Stress is the leading cause of low supply and thats why I’m a big promoter of letting mothers choose their own path. What’s best for mama is best for baby! 🙂

That’s so true. A mom can successfully breastfeed without doing the whole attachment parenting thing. And if a mom doesn’t wan’t to breastfeed, that should be her choice too. And two years?? Wow!! I salute you.